It’s no secret the Wii U is struggling. Following the success of the Wii was always going to be a hard task, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the sales slump Nintendo’s current console is embroiled in. In the last six months has shifted around 500,000 units.
And these sales figures come in spite of a price drop in the US. In the first quarter of the past six months the Wii U sold 160,000 units meaning that the price drop did result in a small spike in sales, but not enough to push the console over the tipping point.
But despite Wii U sales, Nintendo did manage to turn a small profit. The price drop ate at the profitability of the Wii U console, but strong sales of the 3DS seems to be carrying Nintendo at the moment. Nintendo made a profit of US$6.1 billion, which is a step forward compared to the losses it was reporting last year. According to Nintendo’s financial report, favourable exchange rates also played a part in pushing Nintendo into the black.
Regardless of some of the bad news, the forecast for fiscal 2014 is positive. Nintendo expects to make US$560 million in profit, possibly as a result of big releases like Super Mario 3D land, combined with the success of games like Pokemon X & Y.
Wii U sold under 500k in six months [GI.biz]
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29 responses to “The Wii U Sold Less Than 500,000 Units In Six Months, But Things Are Looking Up”
That’s $6.1 million, this isn’t NAB!
$6.1 Billion is pretty awesome. But then forecast to make only 560 Million next year? Was there a type with billion/million with one of those figures?
Probably 6.1 billion yen.
yeah it does seem a “little” different. I would be super surprised if they made 6 billion last year….although I did buy A LOT of 3DS games so…..yeah I probably pushed them into the bil territory lol.
I bought it for 214 at DSE when they had there half price clearance of them. Looking back, it wasn’t even worth that.
I have zombiu, which is really a poor game. Lego City is fun but when compared to other games in the same style it just doesn’t stand up. Was looking to get monster hunter but by all accounts it is a boring grind fest.
The only game I was keen on was Wind Waker but fuck paying 80 for a HD remake.
I did the same thing. I think it’s a pretty nifty bit of kit, but I haven’t played it that much. I will one day 😛 I have Wind Waker, Pikmin 3, ZombiU and wonderful 101 sitting there – but there are so many games to play, and I usually play on PC – so consoles have taken a back seat. The new consoles will change that a little – at least until the shine wears off 😛
The mario/(new)zelda games alone will justify your purchase… it kind of sucks but over the life of the console you’ll play 5-10 games that were wii only and you’ll be happy for those. The rest is junk 🙁
Monster Hunter is fantastic, hardly a grind-fest :/
Rayman is amazing. I was pretty skeptical towards it but playing a demo in the US and the review on GG pushed me over the edge. The musical levels are amazing and the game is just so beautiful.
I have Rayman on 360 and while it is good, I am not the biggest fan of 2d platformers. Give me Rayman 2 any day!
How are the bits with Murphy? They are great on the WiiU pad.
I predicted the slump. I thought it was obviously going to do really poorly – the wii eroded so much good will towards Nintendo. People basically identified the term ‘wii’ with ‘dust’. Then they gave the new console a name that made it sound like a peripheral. And also, the marketing was focused on the tablet, which looked like a peripheral.
Maybe Nintendo will find a way out of the slump (which they sort of have with the 3DS), but it was very easy to predict that they were going into struggle street.
Yeah good points about the peripheral visage to the campaign and the name. Wii U was a terrible name from the outset.
So, is Nintendo going to do a Sega and bow out of the console manufacturing business. Will we see Mario and Zelda on XBox Two or PS5?
Nope.
One thing I’ve learnt from all my years of gaming is, never say never.
When I was a kid we all used to say that Mario and Sonic would NEVER be in a game together, but look what happened.
So, yes it is possible. But it’s also possible that Nintendo could release another console in 4 or 5 years that sells through the roof, like the Wii did.
If anyone is bowing out this gen, it’s Sony or M$.
The PS4 HAS to be a hit to survive, it’s been said. That’s a tough sell considering the PS3 is just becoming profitable, so they’ll want to support that as long as possible, but at the same time, the PS4 offers no backwards compatibility. So it’s one console or the other, and at the moment, the launch lineup isn’t really a good enough reason to make the jump, when the best titles are coming to the PS3 as well, with the difference between them minor anyway.
I doubt it but I wish they would. Would be amazing if they just stuck with Handheld consoles (why not, they still make a huge profit there) and then made 3rd-party titles for other home consoles.
Nintendo have stated that it will never happen, if they stop making consoles then they will stop making games.
But times change and management and ideas change so who knows what will happen in the future.
I think we will get 1 more console out of Nintendo in a few years with another crazy gimmick like a nipple controller or something, and then after that I think traditional consoles will disappear entirely to be replaced by a monthly service fee to play streaming games across the internet.
They have absolute oodles of cash in reserve, they have never ever posted a net loss financially until the last year or two. The can probably survive 2, maybe 3 more Wii U’s in succession.
Good for them.
You can find my Wii U on eBay right now.
I bought the premium model with pikmin 3, nintendoland and an extra Wiimote/nunchuck controller. My kids, 5 and 7 (the perfect Nintendo gamer demographic) have touched it about five times between them.
I bundled it up and put it on eBay last night. They didn’t even batter an eyelid.
Their more interested in minecraft. By more I mean obsessed!
My son did the opposite. He had never finished a Zelda until I gave him access to Wind Waker HD….he’s been hogging the TV ever since. He gave up Minecraft for Zelda! *wipes away a tear* 😀
My son is not yet two. But I can’t wait to introduce him to Zelda!
My son is nearly 3. He imitates all of Link’s “hyah”s and “yaah”s when I run around and hit stuff. It’s goddamn adorable.
The Wii U’s game library is finally starting to get some great exclusives, either just released or on their way in the next 6-12 months (eg Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Super Mario Bros 3D World, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD…) to the point where I’m now seriously considering buying one (when I wasn’t even thinking about it 12 months ago). I think I probably will sometime early in the new year.
To your advantage people might be selling them on ebay now (like the guy above) because they’re realising the current game list stinks. I bought mine in full anticipation of owning it for it’s life cycle and knowing that overall it’s a great purchase… but it’ll just collect dust for 9-12 months in between good releases.
They’re planning to sell multiple millions of consoles by April 2014 – they need to revise that projection down.
No way it’ll happen.
I think the best thing for Nintendo to do is unify their next console and handheld,As in where the handheld can be plugged into a TV, but fully portable, sort of a reverse Wii-U or Nvidia shield.
Mobile graphics are advanced enough now for console quality games, especially Nintendo’s brand of cheap and colourful cartoony style.
1 R&D budget,1 marketing budget and they won’t spread their developer teams as thinly as they are now and Nintendo’s handhels ALWAYS sell.(don’t point out the virtual boy).
Here’s an idea for an article, Kotaku. See if you can find out from third parties why they’re specifically targeting the WiiU for delays. It’s like some kind of twisted revenge on Nintendo fans or something. Both Batman and now Assassin’s Creed have been pushed back almost a month for WiiU with no reason given at all, even though they were released simultaneously in the U.S.
I smells conspiracy! It’s like they’re trying to MAKE the WiiU fail!
That’s absurd! All of their lazy, late and more expensive ports to the Wii U are simply not selling well.
That’s why they’re holding back!